But It's You I Can't Deny
by sentbyfools
Summary: AU. Emma/Hook. When the call comes in, Emma sighs and grabs her jacket, trying to remember why it was a good idea to bring him along in the first place.
1. But It's You I Can't Deny 1

**Title: **but it's you i can't deny

**Author: **sentbyfools

**Summary: **AU. When the call comes in, Emma sighs and grabs her jacket, trying to remember why it was a good idea to bring him along in the first place.

**Notes: **Partially inspired by this graphic and this prompt_: In Storybrooke, Killian gets arrested for breaking and entering/stealing, not used to this new world where pirates can't take what they please and Emma stays overnight to watch him because he escaped before._ This is a two-part fic, second part should be up as soon as it starts to sound right.

* * *

When the call comes in, Emma sighs and grabs her jacket, trying to remember why it was a good idea to bring him along in the first place.

"Like what you see, Swan?" he says when she finds him strolling around the streets like he owns the place.

Emma rolls her eyes, but can't help the smile that stretches across her face at the sight of him. He looks good, _really_ good. Emma isn't supposed to be noticing that though. In fact, she's supposed to be doing her job and keeping the peace - two things that have nothing to do with checking out Hook.

"I'm going to have to take you in," she says, still smiling despite her best efforts to wipe the grin from her face. She curses herself inwardly.

"Take me in," he says, feigning innocence. "Whatever have I done?"

"Stealing," she says. "You didn't pay for those clothes."

He keeps grinning at her, and then finally with a dramatic sigh, he says, "I'll come quietly."

"Somehow I sincerely doubt that," Emma says sarcastically. "Do I have to cuff you to me to make sure you don't try to escape?"

She realizes her mistake the moment the words are out of her mouth, but it's too late to stop Hook from rushing to her side and saying, "Oh would you?"

When she doesn't respond, he continues, "Although I must say, Emma, we really need to work on your trust issues."

He is standing so close that Emma can feel his breath on her skin as he speaks. It's affecting her in a way that it shouldn't be - she feels warm all over. She resists the urge to move away, wanting to hold her ground more than she wants to put space between them.

"Because I don't trust you?" she says.

"Because you haven't trusted a man since he abandoned you," he says softly.

"Wrong," she says, carefully keeping the shakiness out of her breath and pulling away from him. "You're not as astute as you think you are."

He shrugs slowly. "Maybe I'm not, but I think you're lying."

"Wrong," she repeats. "Now stop trying to distract me. It isn't going to work."

"Of course," he says. "Let's go then. Take me away."

The station is only a couple of blocks away so Emma doesn't bother to put him in her car, instead leading him on foot through the surprisingly empty streets.

When they get there, Emma leads him to the cell in the back. He makes an unimpressed sound when he sees it, but otherwise is mostly silent.

_He's up to something,_ she thinks just as the cuff slams down on her wrist, securing her to the cell she'd just been trying to unlock.

She twists to stare at him. He grins at her proudly. Emma shakes her wrist, futilely trying to break free.

"What the hell, Hook?" she says. "Let me go, dammit. Don't you dare leave me here like this."

"Like you left me chained in the Giant's castle?" he says, giving her a disappointed look. Emma squirms under that look, still feeling guilty for her action. After he'd caught up to them and helped them with Cora, Emma had wanted to apologize to him, but had found the words too hard to manage.

"If this is your idea of punishment -" she starts to threaten.

"It is," he cuts in with a smirk.

She tries a different tactic. "Well, it's mine too. I feel sufficiently punished," she says. "Now uncuff me."

He laughs. "I'm afraid I can't do that, love," he says, sounding put upon.

_He's annoyed? _Emma thinks viciously, forgetting her guilt in favour of annoyance. _I'm the one handcuffed to the cell._

"Let me go, Hook," she says.

"Not until you tell me what I want to know," he says.

Emma rolls her eyes. "I have no idea where Gold is or what he's up to, so this is pointless."

"Don't make the mistake of thinking that the only thing I'm interested in is Rumpelstiltskin," Hook chastises. He approaches her, but stands just out of arm's reach. _Smart of him_, Emma thinks.

"What else could there possibly be?" she asks, checking her pockets for the key. _Nothing; he took that too, damn him._

"How could any man have been immune to your charms?" he says as if to himself.

Emma tries to ignore him, but his words hit her like a ton of bricks. _Neal_, she thinks even as she tries to desperately to think of anything else. She glares daggers at Hook. He's gotten under her skin in a way that no one has in a long time.

"Tell me why you won't trust me," he says, not quite a demand.

Emma snorts, forcing back the memory of her past hurt and says, "Because you're Captain Hook?"

"Tell me his name," Hook says slowly as if speaking to a child.

"I'm not -" Emma starts, frustrated. "You think just because I won't trust you, it has to do with a man?"

"Doesn't it?" he says, sounding surprised.

"I - " she starts, but it happens again. The truth comes out with her meaning it to. "His name is Neal."

She shuts her mouth tightly before she says anything more. Being around him - it's messing with her head. She hasn't even shared this much with Mary Margaret, what the hell is she doing telling it to Captain Hook?

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it? Now that we've gotten over that hurdle..."

He steps closer to her and holds out his hand. The key rests in it, and Emma grabs at it before he has the chance to change his mind.

"I'm not like Neal, Emma," he says, stepping close enough so that by the time she uncuffs her hand, he is hovering over her, well within a comfortable distance.

"You're right," she says, "He would never have chained me a cell to get me to talk."

"That's because he lacked creativity," Hook says.

"Insanity, you mean," she says, rubbing her now freed wrist.

She looks up and his mouth is inches away from hers. Hook's grin fades and suddenly Emma realizes that she has been staring too long. She looks away quickly, not wanting him to get any ideas. She starts to put distance between them, remembers she is supposed to be putting him in the cell, when he leans forward, brushing his lips against her cheek.

She turns into the kiss, and sighs softly when his lips press against hers. His tongue brushes against her lips, seeking permission. _That's a surprise,_ Emma thinks, and lets him in. Emma kisses him with a fervor that he soon matches. Their tongues duel, both of them fighting for control of the kiss.

He is the first one to pull away, but she is the one left gasping when he does. She swipes her tongue across her bottom lip as she stares at his mouth again, and Emma tries to remember why she should be pulling away instead of leaning back in for more.

"Later, love," he says as if reading her thoughts.

She blinks out of her stupor, and realizing what she was doing, she pushes him away, horrified at herself and annoyed at him.

"No. Don't do that again. Just - get in the cell," she says, moving out of the way of the door.

"Really? Still?" he says although he sounds only minimally surprised. He steps past her and into the cell.

"Yes," she says firmly. "You're under arrest. Under arrest means you get to spend time in a cell until I figure out what to do with you."

"What am I supposed to do in here to entertain myself?" he whines, voice plaintive.

Emma shrugs and pushes the cell shut, locking him inside. "I'm sure you'll find something."

"You could entertain me," he says suggestively, sitting down on the bed.

Emma snorts. She could do a lot of things, would like to do a lot of things, but she has better self-control than that.

"This is going to be a long night, I can already tell," she murmurs to herself.


	2. But It's You I Can't Deny 2

**Title: **but it's you i can't deny

**Author: **sentbyfools

**Rating: **M

**Notes: **Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed; I'm really happy you liked part 1! Part 2 contains some smut. I'm not sure if I'm going to continue this - maybe leave me a review if you'd like to read more in this verse? I hope you enjoy this.

* * *

It's after Emma has cleaned up their trash from their dinner that she realizes something is wrong.

"Hook," she says when she sees him lying on the floor.

"Stop playing," she says, rolling her eyes at the obvious trick.

He doesn't respond and Emma ignores him. He'll give up eventually.

Minutes pass though, and he doesn't move, and that's when Emma's worry gets the better of her. She gets up from her seat and walks over towards the cell.

"Hook?"

There is still no response.

She unlocks the cell door and walks over to him. She nudges him with her foot. He doesn't move. She leans down to check on him and that is when he sits up.

"We need to talk," he says, "and properly, not through the bars of some jail cell."

"You," she says standing up. All she feels is furious at herself for falling for his trick and furious at him for making her...worried? Right, she had actually been worried about him. _Stupid me._

Just as she is about to say something more, his mouth swoops down on hers, catching her off guard. _When did he stand up? _she asks herself absentmindedly as she kisses him back. She could break the kiss, break away and do it easily, but for some reason, she doesn't. She gives in, gives in to the taste of him on her tongue and the feeling of him pressed against her, and stops thinking.

It isn't long before Emma and Killian are both shirtless and Emma is seated in his lap on the cell's bed. He fondles her bared breast roughly, tweaking the nipple beneath his fingers. The dull pain goes straight through her and becomes something more - a delicious ache inside her.

She pulls away from him only long enough to remove her jeans. She is hit with the thought of _I'm glad I de-hooked him earlier or else this would've been awkward, _and she starts to unbuckle his pants.

When they are both nude, Emma pushes him back against the bed and straddles him.

She stares into his dark eyes as she takes him inside of her, savoring the feeling of him filling her inch by inch. His one good hand is wrapped around her waist, holding her steady, and at this angle, it's a wonder that they're not both on the ground.

Emma lets out a small laugh that turns into a whimper on its way out when he thrusts his hips upward, going even deeper than before. It feels better than she imagined it would.

She lifts herself up and then slides back down, creating a slow, rocking pace that leaves her breathless. He is hitting just the right spot, and Emma is starting to see stars. It's been such a long time since she's felt this good. Hook's breath is hot against her throat where he has buried his face. He presses soft kisses to her, sucking along her skin as he moves his lips over her .

With a small, almost inaudible cry, Emma comes. Somehow she manages to keep moving through the haze of pleasure. She feels a sharp pain as Hook bites not-quite-hard into the soft juncture between her neck and shoulder. Even that manages to feel good. He thrusts up into her harder, and the pleasure starts to build again.

"Kiss me," Emma demands.

He grins but acquiesces. They fight each other for control of the kiss, both of them giving as good as they get. Finally, Hook pulls away, gasping.

"Swan," he bites out and Emma falls over the edge again. He follows right behind, tightening his grip on her waist as he comes inside her.

When she can finally breathe again, Emma untangles their bodies and stands on still shaky legs. She's a mess, he's a mess, and she just had sex with Captain Hook in the police station and what the hell was she thinking?

_It could be worse_, she thinks. _They could have gotten caught._

With that thought she refastens her top, and pulls her jeans back on. When she is fully dressed and close to presentable looking, she spares a look to Hook. He hasn't moved since they finished and he's just watching her with an unreadable look in his eyes.

"This didn't happen," she says, only partially wishing that her words were true.

He hums agreeably and then says, "So are we going to talk about it? This thing that didn't happen?"

"Nope," Emma says.

"Emma," he starts and then stops. He inclines his head at her, studying her carefully. "Well, Swan, perhaps this is for the best then."

"For the best - what?" she says, confused by the sudden shift in the conversation.

"Talking about it - no, that wouldn't be good. It would mean you trusting me enough to share your feelings with me and we can't have that."

"Feelings? It was just sex," she blurts out, wanting to take the words back as soon as they leave her mouth.

He gives her a disappointed look. "Darling, that hurts."

"I didn't -" _mean it._

She sighs, running her fingers through her hair. What did she mean? _Was it just sex?_ No, even she can admit to that. _But what was it then? Two broken people taking comfort each other?_ That made more sense. _And what do I really feel for him?_

Emma bites her lips as she considers that one. She has spent years trying not to focus on her feelings, usually finding them too painful to analyze, so it's hard trying to get a read on herself now. In the short time that she'd known Hook, she'd shared more with him than she had with any man since Neal. There is just something about him that makes Emma simultaneously want to put up her guard and spill all her secrets. She knows inherently that he's untrustworthy - loyal to only his own cause as he has made clear many times - but she still finds herself wanting to trust him anyway. _My emotions are a confusing mess,_ she thinks. She stares at her hands for a long time.

"I don't trust you," she says finally, looking up at him.

He rolls his eyes. "That isn't anything you haven't already told me."

"I don't trust you," she repeats. Taking a deep breath, she continues, "But I want to trust you, and that scares me."

He doesn't respond with a witty rejoinder nor a mocking smile. Instead he surprises her, something he has been doing a lot, and says, "I know exactly how you feel. There's something about you, Swan, something that intrigues me. I want to know more about you; I haven't felt that way about someone in a long time."

Emma doesn't know what to say to that except maybe _I feel the same._

"I have to get my revenge," he says, his tone almost apologetic. He pauses and then says, "It isn't just about me. I owe it to Milah."

"I can't let you hurt him," she replies. "It's my job to protect all the citizens of Storybrooke, even the ones that have it coming to them."

He purses his lips."Then we're at an impasse, it seems."

"Right," Emma says, feeling like she has lost something she only just gained. Unhappy, she starts to pull away. Hook grabs her by the wrist, stopping the motion.

"That doesn't change anything I've said to you tonight," he says as if swearing fealty to her.

Emma feels impossibly, ridiculously relieved. She hides the feeling by standing to her full height and gently pulling his hand off of hers.

"I should go," she says. "It's late."

"You don't have to leave," he says playfully. He raises his eyebrow suggestively and smirks.

Emma feels a now familiar pang of want. She pushes it aside, and says, "Yes, I do. I'll see you tomorrow, Hook."

She exits the cell, locking it behind her. For am moment, they regard each other silently.

"Good night, Emma_,"_ he says finally.

"Good night - _Killian," _she replies and then turns around and leaves.

Her apartment, and it is hers since Mary Margaret moved in with David, feels strangely empty when Emma enters it, but still she smiles as she prepares herself for bed.


	3. Give In, Give It All

**Title: **give in, give it all

**Summary: **Sequel to "But It's You I Can't Deny." For this prompt: _"So what's the scariest, most dangerous creature you've ever faced?" the boy asks excitedly, eager for another story. The pirate considers for a moment. "There was a siren," he says finally. Henry scoffs. "Really? Sirens can't be THAT bad. Don't you just plug your ears and ignore their songs?" Hook sneaks a glance at the boy's mother. "This siren didn't sing."_

**Notes: **Thank you for all the kind reviews! I wanted to try my hand at writing Hook's POV in this, and I thought this fic deserved a sequel so here you have it. Hope you enjoy! There may just be another part of this in the making...

* * *

It is three weeks later, and it is the first time Emma has let him meet Henry, inviting Killian along with her early one morning. Killian would be lying if he said it didn't make him nervous. After spending all this time trying to make Emma trust him, now that she finally has, it feels a little daunting.

Henry, for his part, takes to him like a charm. He lets Killian tell him a myriad of stories about his adventures while Emma chats with the wolf, Red.

"So what's the scariest, most dangerous creature you've ever faced?" the boy asks excitedly, eager for another story.

Killian considers the question for a moment. "There was a siren," he says finally.

Henry scoffs. "Really? Sirens can't be that bad. Don't you just plug your ears and ignore their songs?"

Killian sneaks a glance at the boy's mother. "This siren didn't sing."

"Well what did she do?" Henry asks curiously.

"She caught me off guard, entranced me in a way that I haven't been before."

Henry's eyes narrow into lines of suspicion. "And how did you defeat her?"

"Who says that I have?" Killian replies evasively, glancing over at Emma again.

Emma walks over to the table then.

"What were you guys talking about?" Emma asks, giving Killian a suspicious look. _Like mother like son_, Killian thinks, looking between the two of them.

"I was just telling Henry a story -"

"He was telling me about how he's in love with you," Henry cuts in, sounding proud of himself, the little nuisance. Killian shoots Henry a glare and then turns back to Emma with an apologetic grin.

"Henry seems to have gotten the wrong idea," he says carefully.

She casts him another suspicious glance and then turns back to Henry. "Come on now, it's time for school," she says.

"But," Henry starts, looking back at Killian. Killian smirks at him, and that seems to satisfy him because he follows Emma out the door without a word. Killian watches as she walks him up the street and then disappears. For a moment, he thinks he's been left alone, but then Emma returns.

"I'm curious," Emma says, sitting down across from him, "As to how wrong of an idea Henry got."

Killian smiles at her wanly. She is grinning widely, and he blinks hard as if the vision might disappear in front of his face. With Emma, it just might, so he memorizes the expression, and says, "You're enjoying this."

"He told me that you said I was a siren," Emma says smugly. She crosses her legs underneath the table, nudging against Killian's in the process.

"Well, love, you've certainly got the viciousness of one down pat," he remarks.

Emma scowls at him, and he wishes he could take his words back. He studies her silently for a moment, and then decides that he has nothing to lose and says, "Let's say Henry is right."

The scowl disappears, and Emma raises an eyebrow at him, giving him an interested look. "Yes?"

"What are you willing to do about it?"

Emma looks away from him, staring at her hands instead. Killian stares at her, waiting for her response on bated breath. He hasn't felt this nervous in a long time, and no matter how hard he tries he can't make the feeling go away.

"You don't love me. You can't." Emma says softly, her earlier bravado completely disappeared.

"And why can't I?" Killian says, narrowing his eyes at her.

Emma looks up at him then, exasperation written in her features. "You've known me for a little over a month. You can't be in love with me. That's not how it works."

Killian raises an eyebrow at her. "That's not how it works for whom? It seems to be working that way for me," he says, casually, although the words feel anything but. He can't seem to stop the racing of his heart nor can he stop searching Emma's face for a spark of mutual desire.

Emma lets out a pained sound. "You're infuriating, you know that?" she says.

Killian grins, knocking his knee against hers. "You love it."

"No," she says, shaking her head vehemently.

"No," she repeats again, as if trying to convince herself.

She stands up suddenly then, and says, "I need to go."

Killian shakes his head. He isn't going to have that, not now, not after he's let himself open up to her, and not after she has pretty much confirmed that she feels the same way too.

She is out the door before he can reach her, but he catches up to her just up the street. Grabbing her by the arm, he spins her around to face him.

"Killian," she says in a pleading tone. Dissatisfied by her distress, he closes the distance between them.

"You don't have to say you love me," he says, "I can live without the words."

Leaning down so that his mouth is almost pressed up against hers, he continues, "I just want you to understand that I can and do feel that way about you."

Emma lets out a shaky breath, and then murmurs, "Okay. I believe you."

Killian smiles and presses a soft kiss against her lips, feeling a sense of contentment that he thought he would never feel again.

"That's all you need to do, Emma. Trust in me," he says.

Emma sighs and closes her eyes. She says something he can't quite decipher. He releases her arm and curves his hand against her cheek.

"What did you say, Emma?"

"I said," she says firmly this time, "This feels like a fairytale."

Killian chuckles and says, "Well, isn't that what this is?"

"But you're certainly not a prince, and I'm no princess," she says.

"Not all fairytales are like the ones you read in books," he replies, staring at her lips. He doesn't even try to resist kissing her again and only pulls away when her hands push against his chest.

"I have work to do," she says and starts to walk away.

Killian frowns. Had she managed to completely dismiss everything they just said and so quickly? He curses himself for admitting his feelings to her. It was too soon, _too soon._

"Well, are you coming or not?" she says, stopping and cocking her head at him.

Killian follows quickly behind, grinning all the while.


	4. You've Brought Me Back

**Title: **you've brought me back (to that place in my heart i thought was gone)

**Summary: **Third in the "But It's You I Can't Deny" series. _"All's fair in war, dearie."_

**Notes: **Slightly inspired by this prompt: _Hook crosses the storybrooke border and loses all his fairytale land memories. Emma finds herself desperately wanting him to remember her, although she doesn't quite know why. _I didn't think I'd be writing so many sequels to "But It's You I Can't Deny" but the fics just keep coming to me. :D

* * *

"All's fair in war, dearie," is what Mr. Gold says when she finds him and Killian, _Killian_, by the side of the road leading out of Storybrooke. Ever since Killian had gone missing, Emma had thought many things, primarily that he'd left her, but never had she guessed how true those thoughts would turn out to be.

Killian had passed over the boundary line. Gold had made sure of that and now Killian was gone and Emma didn't know what to do.

Gold was gone now too. She couldn't have stopped him from leaving. Technically, no crime had been committed and in all likelihood, he had acted in self-defense.

In all likelihood, Killian had chosen to leave her.

"Damn you Hook!" Emma shouts in frustration. "Damn you," she whispers again and breaks down into body-wracking sobs that she can't control. Damn him for ruining it like all the others before and damn her for believing he wouldn't.

"Miss, are you okay?" a soft, tentative voice asks beside her.

Emma looks up at not-Killian and makes a noise halfway between a laugh and a sob. "Do I look okay to you?" she snaps at the man wearing Killian's face. _He said he loved me_. She looks into not-Killian's eyes and tries to see that love reflected in them but finds nothing but confusion and annoyance.

"Now, there's no need to be rude. I'm just trying to help," he says good-naturedly. "I can't just leave a lovely woman crying on the side of the road. It wouldn't be the gentlemanly thing to do."

Emma's sobs turn into full out laughter. "We've gone over this before. You're no gentleman. You're a pirate."

"I'm a what? Have we met before?" he says, the confusion in his features deepening.

"You said you loved me and you asked me to trust you and I _did_ and now you're gone, just like I knew you would be," Emma says mournfully.

"I don't know who you're talking about, but I'm right here," he says, taking a step closer to her. "And if you need a ride -" he pauses, looking around, "Or someone to walk you home, I'm right here."

"That is _not _what I need. What I need is - "Emma stops, voice dropping. "What I need is you."

Without thinking, she presses her lips to the not-Killian's mouth, murmuring, "Come back to me," as she kisses his frozen form.

When he says, "I'm right here, love. I'm not going anywhere," and wraps her in his arms, kissing her back, Emma almost sobs in relief. In fact, tears do fall down her cheeks. With his hand, Killian brushes them away.

"You know, for a good moment there, I thought my name was Colin and that I was late for band practice. Strange that Gold would choose such an absurdly easy to break curse to cast on me."

"Strange isn't what I would call it," Emma says, her words coming out choked. She tries to look away, but when he turns her face back to his, she doesn't try again.

"I love you, Emma. I'm sorry that I left you there for a minute, but I promise it won't happen again. I will never willingly leave you, this I swear."

"I - " Emma's voice breaks, but she needs to say this, needs to get the words off her chest. "I don't want you to leave me ever. I was so scared and it made me realize that I - I love you. Please don't leave me alone. So many people in my life have abandoned me, so many that I thought I was used to it, but then you - and I can't do that again. I never want to experience that again."

"And you won't," Killian says fiercely.

"But Gold-"

"Failed. As he will do again and again. I will defeat him and then it will be just you and me, Emma, for as long as you'll have me."

Emma gives him the first real smile that she has worn since he disappeared and says, "I'd like that. Come on, let's go home."

"Together?" Killian asks as if he can't quite believe her.

Truth be told, Emma can't quite believe herself, but "Together," she confirms and grasps his hand in her own.


End file.
